Maim

Maim is a verb meaning to injure someone so that they suffer permanent damage or loss of function of a body part. It connotes severe, lasting injury and is not used for minor harm. The noun maiming refers to the act or to the result, while maimed is used as an adjective to describe someone who has been maimed.

In legal contexts, maiming often constitutes aggravated assault or a similar offense, depending on jurisdiction. Medical and forensic discussions may use the term to describe injuries that result in permanent impairment. In everyday usage, maim is a strong term and can carry significant emotional weight, making it less common in neutral reporting.

Etymology is uncertain, but the word appears in Middle English and may derive from Old French maimer, with no universally agreed-upon lineage. The core sense—permanent harm or disability—has been present in English usage for many centuries.

Because it denotes irreversible harm, maim is typically reserved for serious cases and is less neutral than synonyms like injure, wound, or impair. It remains a charged term in both legal and journalistic contexts, where precision about the degree and permanence of injury is important.